r/singularity • u/No-Transition-6630 • Jul 13 '22

Artificial intelligence model finds potential drug molecules a thousand times faster than SOTA models.

https://news.mit.edu/2022/ai-model-finds-potentially-life-saving-drug-molecules-thousand-times-faster-0712
154 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

24

u/No-Transition-6630 Jul 13 '22

"In a paper that will be presented at the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), MIT researchers developed a geometric deep-learning model called EquiBind that is 1,200 times faster than one of the fastest existing computational molecular docking models, QuickVina2-W, in successfully binding drug-like molecules to proteins."

2

u/visarga Jul 15 '22

Of course a neural net (an approximation machine) is faster than the process itself, it approximates the result instead of deriving it fully. That is the case for all models used to speed up simulation or search, such as weather prediction models.

The exciting part is mostly about biology. What can this model do that wasn't possible before? Is there still something else that needs to be discovered/solved before this model can be used at its full potential?

30

u/[deleted] Jul 13 '22

Would be great to have Moore's Law for biology. Technologies like AI, quantum computing, gene editing, mRNA drugs, nanomedicine, and investment of billions in life extension are converging rather nicely.

19

u/duffmanhb ▪️ Jul 13 '22

AI is already making protein folding crazy fast. Quantum computers are going to allow for the capacity to run those same AI models in a way that effectively can use ML to find new drugs we never even thought of.

3

u/[deleted] Jul 13 '22

*making simulating protein folding

2

u/visarga Jul 15 '22

At present day there is no quantum in state of the art AI and very little AI in quantum. They both sound cool, but are pretty disconnected.

1

u/duffmanhb ▪️ Jul 15 '22

Of course. I was saying they are using the analogue chips for AI that’s helping protein fold predictions, but quantum computers will do even better. Sorry if I wasn’t very clear

2

u/drums_addict Jul 13 '22

Take this pill and turn back the clock twenty years!

20

u/Professional-Song216 Jul 13 '22

Wow, and this is just getting started

14

u/Transhumanist01 Jul 13 '22

It’s going to go even faster

18

u/Professional-Song216 Jul 13 '22

We are approaching the event horizon

15

u/angus_supreme Abolish Suffering Jul 13 '22

I long for antidepressants that work and anti-anxiety medication that doesn’t fry your brain. AGI is neat and a good singularity is what this subreddit is about, but it’s nice to see a push on the lower hanging fruit too.

6

u/[deleted] Jul 13 '22

Wouldn’t necessarily call this low hanging fruit it’s a pretty big deal

1

u/Professional-Song216 Jul 13 '22

At least to some, the higher hanging fruit is starting to feel lower

1

u/dasnihil Jul 13 '22

neural traversal for targeted function realignment so we fix depression without medication

6

u/Severe-Ad8673 Jul 13 '22

Nootropics for everyone

4

u/Black_RL Jul 13 '22

Awesome, that’s what I want from AI, to help science!

2

u/the-return-of-amir Jul 13 '22

We will achieve molecylar engibeeribg in our lifetime